Posted on February 1, 2010 at 2:58 PM
Filed under: Deal International
Tagged: Air India , Indian Airlines , Jet Airways (India) Ltd. , Kingfisher Airlines , Manmohan Singh , SpiceJet Ltd.

As Japan Airlines Corp. touches down in bankruptcy, attention in Asia shifts southeastward toward another low-flying albatross. In India, the government has committed to a $170 million equity infusion for state-owned Air India by March, with the civil aviation minister Friday admitting more money is necessary. Some analysts expect...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 28, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Filed under: Case Studies | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: Daniel Vasella , Jeorg Reinhardt , Joe Jiminez , Novartis

The latest sign of the diversified business models embraced by most of the world's biggest pharma companies is the resume of the new CEO at Switzerland's Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS). In the contest to succeed Daniel Vasella, who will remain chairman, Joe Jiminez, a consumer products specialist, has beaten out...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Comments (1) ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 27, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Middle market
Tagged: John Malone , Liberty Media Corp. , Live Nation Inc. , Ticketmaster

How much market power did Live Nation Inc.'s (NYSE:LYV) acquisition of Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:TKTM) give it?Not so much as to cause the U.S. Department of Justice to block the deal. After imposing some conditions, the DOJ approved the $720 million transaction, and it closed on Jan. 25.But enough, apparently,...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 25, 2010 at 3:53 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Deal International | Growth Strategy
Tagged: Bare Escentuals , Leslie Blodgett , Shiseido

It's easy to see how Shiseido Co. Ltd. was seduced by Bare Escentuals Inc. Japan's leading cosmetics maker agreed Jan. 15 to buy Bare Escentuals for $1.7 billion, a 41% premium to the target's three-month share price average. Shiseido wants to increase its U.S. footprint and enter the booming...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Comments (2) ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM
Filed under: Deal International | Divesting and Restructuring | Joint Ventures and Alliances
Tagged: american airlines , Delta Air Lines , Gerard Arpey , Japan Airlines

American Airlines Inc. CEO Gerard Arpey altered the tone of the discussion about the future of Japan Airlines Corp. last week, forgoing the usual sweet-talk about how JAL would be better off continuing to partner with American instead of joining with Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL). Speaking to analysts,...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Comments (1) ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 22, 2010 at 3:25 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Divesting and Restructuring
Tagged: All Nippon Airways Co. , Japan Airlines Corp.

Japan Airlines Corp. is a vestige of another time and place. So, too, are the highly protectionist policies that govern airline access to Japan. JAL's bankruptcy filing this week, which follows by a month the partial opening of Japan's closed skies, means commercial aviation in the world's second-largest economy...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 22, 2010 at 2:55 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Joint Ventures and Alliances
Tagged: lithium , Toyota

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) this week gave an indication of just how important electric cars are to its future, taking the unusual step of investing in a northern Argentina mining project where a key ingredient of next-gen auto batteries will be mined.Toyota Tsusho, an affiliate of the world's largest...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 12, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Best Practices | Corporate Strategy | Deal International
Tagged: Femsa , Heineken , Irene Rosenfeld , Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT) , Warren Buffett

A common worry about acquisitions done for stock is that they make it too easy to overpay -- a concern Warren Buffett expressed rather emphatically to Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT) CEO Irene Rosenfeld last week in a statement arguing against Kraft issuing shares in its bid for Cadbury plc...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 7, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Best Practices | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Joint Ventures and Alliances | Middle market | Sector Watch | Trends
Tagged: biosimilars , generics , Glaxo , injectables , Pfizer , Sanofi , Teva

Side effects may include irony and narrowing margins. But for Big Pharma, buying makers of generic drugs is one of the preferred therapies for the revenue loss they face when patents on their blockbuster medicines expire. Even generic subsectors like injectables are getting crowded. Research & Markets notes the growing...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 7, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Joint Ventures and Alliances | Middle market | Sector Watch | Trends
Tagged: David Simmons , generics drugs , injectables , Jeffrey Kindler , Pfizer , Strides Arcolab

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) continues to prepare for doomsday in 2012, by which time the patent on cholesterol drug Lipitor will expire. The drug accounts for 25% of Pfizer's annual revenues, and despite the New York drug giant's $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth, it's looking for more opportunities. Like its rivals,...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 5, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Middle market
Tagged: American Airlines , Delta Air Lines , UAL Corp.

Japan Airlines Corp. continues to struggle through its government-backed restructuring. Tuesday's news is that pension fund members have voted in favor of cutting their benefits.American Air Lines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) continue to vie for the right to be JAL's partner on flights between the U.S. and...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail ]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 5, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy | Middle market | Sector Watch | Trends
Tagged: Apple Inc. , JumpTap , Microsoft , Millennial Media , MobClix , Nexus One , Quattro Wireless , Yahoo!

It wasn't very surprising that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) acquired mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless, which confirmed the deal with a Happy New Year blog (we suppose that's not odd for a startup, but we're still waiting to hear from Apple). AllThingsDigital and The New York Times cited sources putting...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Comments (1) ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 5, 2010 at 3:07 PM
Filed under: Joint Ventures and Alliances | Middle market
Tagged: Chesapeake Energy , Total SA

Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s (NYSE:CHK) joint venture with French oil giant Total SA in north Texas' Barnett shale was heralded by analysts for the cash influx it will deliver and its ability to keep Chesapeake's natural gas exploration and production programs humming. Under terms of the deal, Total will pay the Oklahoma...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 5, 2010 at 10:07 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Best Practices | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Growth Strategy | Middle market | Trends
Tagged: AstraZeneca , Bristol-Myers Squibb , Eli Lilly

With Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) announcing step two of its acquisition of Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ACL) from Nestle SA Monday -- step one having come in July of 2008 -- we're reminded that Big Pharmas have been wheeling and dealing for a while now to cope with the revenue loss they face...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]

Posted on January 5, 2010 at 7:36 AM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Divesting and Restructuring
Tagged: Clare Hart , Dow Jones & Co. , Les Hinton

Dow Jones & Co. is combining its consumer media and enterprise media groups, a move that has reportedly cost Clare Hart her job. Hart, a long-time Dow Jones executive, had been president of the enterprise media group. We first spoke to Hart following her successful run as chief executive of Factiva...  Continue reading

[ Share ]  [ E-mail]  [ Leave a Comment ]  [ Full Story ]